Many personal injury cases are not taken to the court and settled without any paperwork. However, in order to understand the process of how the settlement takes place, you should know the following steps:
1 Meeting with a personal injury lawyer:
First of all, you need to search for a personal injury attorney. Most of the attorneys deal with free early consultation; you can discuss your suit with him.
After knowing about your case the injury lawyer may or may not accept your personal injury case. Many attorneys work on conditional fee grounds that is also called “no win, no fee” condition.
The conditional case means you need to pay for the services of attorney only if you win the case.
2. Knowing the statute of limitations
The statute of limitation explains the time limit in which you need to file the case once your injury occurs. If the statute of limitation is over, then you have no rights to sue the opposite party. The statute of limitation of a personal injury differs from state to state.
3. Filing your complaint
The important document for the case is known as a petition or complaint. The complaint must consist of below date:
- Details of the Parties involved
- The basis for the court’s jurisdiction over the case
- Petitioner’s lawful claims
- Evidence that supports the petitioner’s claims
- The demand of the petitioners from the defendants i.e. monetary damages etc.
4. The process of discovery
The basic stage of the personal injury case is the discovery process. While this process takes place both the parties need to bring up the witness details and the evidence. Both the parties will take the oath from the witness out of the court and take the statement of witnesses too.
Both the parties will produce the papers that are necessary and can be used as evidence, that is medical reports etc. this process takes a minimum of a month but in complex cases it takes years. The delay in the discovery may be the basis of the delay in the trial appointments.
The lawyers of both the parties can file numerous motions earlier to the trial that may decide the case:
- Motion to lay off
- Motion for the summary verdict.
- Motion for default verdict.
5. Settlement
The settlement is the condition in which the petitioner layoffs the case in return of some type compensation.
When the settlement is concluded, it shifts into the agreement between both the parties. Usually, the settlement is presented to the judge by both the parties to confirm that it will be required as a legal binding contract.
6. Trial and appeal
If the case is not settled and the trial is taking place, the judge will decide according to the evidence that if the defendant is accountable for the petitioner’s claims. The judge takes the decision by analyzing the facts by a dominance of the evidence standard.
The personal injury lawsuit takes some time to complete. The Pacific Attorney Group can help you get the compensation and present the case with strong evidence.
